Press Release Stephen Berry Race Relations

Maori Party “Wasting Time Commenting Further”

Tamaki Independent candidate Stephen Berry is amused by an open letter from Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples to Don Brash regarding the Act Party’s advertisement on Maori radicalism. It comes less than 24 hours after Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia’s press release stating that the Maori party “will not be wasting time commenting further.”

“The Act party has my full support for the measures they propose to eliminate the institutional racism that is inherent in the New Zealand Government. The poison of racial nationalism, special privilege and separatism has no place in a free nation. The idea that Maori are inferior to other races and cannot survive without special handouts is deeply offensive and should not be perpetuated with taxpayer money.”

Pita Sharples states in his open letter “that Maori people are still amongst the most impoverished, the most marginalised, and the most socially at-risk communities in New Zealand. I do not see much evidence of Maori privilege in these statistics.” Stephen Berry argues, “The end result of special treatment does not determine whether special privilege is being given to Maori. The fact that Government programs, racial seats and unelected racial authorities exist is alone the determination of privilege.”

“The 2011 Government budget contains $208.5 million of spending on the Ministry of Maori Development this year,” Berry continues.

“How much more evidence does the Maori Party need of special privilege?”

If elected as the Member for Tamaki this year, Stephen Berry will work towards

• Abolition of the Maori Seats

• Abolition of the Auckland Council Maori Statutory Board

• Reducing the Government deficit by a further $208 million by abolishing the Ministry of Maori Development

• Removal of the right for Maori tribes to tell property owners what they can do with their land by abolishing the Resource Management Act

• The creation of a constitution restricting Government functions to the protection of individual liberty • Abolition of all racial advisory committees

“I commend Don Brash for his work in highlighting the intrinsically racist behaviours the Government routinely commits in New Zealand.”

Ends

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